Food

What's the Difference Between Potato and Tapioca Starch or Flour?

Food

What's the Difference Between Potato and Tapioca Starch or Flour?

Jane Blair asks me to tell her about this confusing ingredient:
Please tell me the difference between "tapioca flour" and "tapioca starch", and the difference between "potato flour" and "potato starch".
Tapioca flour and tapioca starch are the same thing. Both are made from the cassava root that has been processed, dehydrated and finely ground to create a very fine powder. It is mainly used as a thickener in this form.
Potato starch is however different than potato flour. Potato flour is the potato, cooked, dehydrated and finely ground. It is slightly yellow or off white in colour. Potato starch is just the starch of the potato that is processed from the potato. It is very fine, white, powdery and dissolves easily. Both can be used for thickening but the results will be different, it's the difference between using flour or cornstarch as a thickener.
Think of the diffference between potato flour and potato starch as the same as corn flour and cornstarch.
To complicate things a bit, if you come across something called "potato starch flour," it is the same as potato starch.
Feel free to ask me any of your food questions, I pick a question once a week to post the answer in my blog.
You will find lots more answers to cooking questions under the Foodies Ask category of my blog.
Here are a few examples of what fellow readers want to know about:
Molasses, Fancy or Blackstrap: What's the DifferenceHow to Double a Cake RecipeUsing Egg Substitues for MeringuesThe Ups and Downs of Baking PowderGluten in Flour: Everything you Need to KnowCan You Make Homemade Creme Fraiche

Culture & Entertainment

Winning gift idea: Subscription boxes for everyone on your list

Culture & Entertainment

Winning gift idea: Subscription boxes for everyone on your list

Whether you're on the hunt for a thoughtful gift that's sure to impress or simply a gift that can be delivered, your answer is easy: Go for subscription boxes.

They're trending hard in the gift department. So, what are subscription boxes exactly? Basically, there's a company out there (yes—in Canada, too!) that will bundle up specific things you're interested in and deliver them in a package right to your door. No matter what your thing is—beauty, sweets, wine, more wine—there's a subscription box for you.

Think about the people on your list and narrow down what makes them tick. Beauty buff? Get her a subscription to Glossy Box. Goop-enthusiast? Mama Earth Organics. Coffee Lover? The Roasters Pack. Sweet tooth victim? Bakers Krate.

Treat your mom to Oh Mother's boxes, which will deliver pampering products to ensure she gets a little "me" time. For your daughter, Ellebox will help her get through that gloomy time of month, for the bookworm, Owl Box offers new young adult books and fun extras, and for the relative who's going through a difficult time, Caring Crate will help keep their spirit up.

And there's still plenty more subscription boxes to choose from.

Flip through the slideshow to find out some of the best boxes available to Canadians and learn about what each one has to offer.

Winning gift idea: Subscription boxes for everyone on your list

For the Gwyneth in the group

Perfect for the Gwyneth-type—the one who juggles it all and is devoted to healthy, organic goods—will go crazy for this monthly subscription service. Mama Earth Organics offers healthy foods and fresh produce from local organic farms and will deliver right to her door.

Winning gift idea: Subscription boxes for everyone on your list

For the one who can't come home for the holidays

Ensure your friend who's out-of-the-country doesn't get too homesick this holiday season with Expack's Canada box. It boasts classic Canadian treats—like ketchup chips, Coffee Crisps, and Flakies—that are beloved by everyone north of the border.

Winning gift idea: Subscription boxes for everyone on your list

For the one with the sweet tooth

She'll probably be equally happy and mad at this gift: Bakers Krate delivers locally-sourced freshly baked goods (including cookies, brownies, and cupcakes), made by Canadian artisans, right to her front door.

Winning gift idea: Subscription boxes for everyone on your list

For the beauty buff

Help your beauty-loving bestie stay in-the-know with the classic, latest and greatest beauty finds with Glossy Box. It brings makeup, hair, and skincare products to consumers’ doorsteps around the globe.

12 of the best brownies you'll ever make

Baking & Desserts

12 of the best brownies you'll ever make

Cakey or fudgy? Crunchy on the outside or gooey all over? Topped with pecans or doused with ice cream? No matter how you take your brownie, you'll be sure to find your perfect match (and maybe a new favourite!) in our roundup of the best brownie recipes.

If you're anything like us, your love for brownies goes back to your childhood and the hot, gooey homemade batch your mom would whip up. You couldn't wait for it to cool even a little before taking a forkful and would soon be begging for seconds. And then there were the sundae-topped brownies you'd order for dessert at your local restaurant. Complete with vanilla ice cream that melted down the sides of the brownie, whipped cream, chocolate fudge, and a cherry, this was dessert at its finest—or at least, child-approved finest. And so, it should come as no surprise that this classic comfort treat still remains one of our most beloved desserts today.

From the overload of chocolate to the gooey texture, there's plenty to love about brownies. But in case you need another reason, here it is: They're easy to make and easy to take to a decadent—or even more decadent—new level.

For those who favour fruit in their desserts, whip up a batch of brownies that boasts banana and coconut, chunks of cherry, or rhubarb and cream cheese. For the ones who like brownies extra sweet, load them up with chocolate chunks or toffee bits. Looking for an extra dose of flavour? Add plenty of peanuts, top them with caramel popcorn or add some Irish cream to the batter.

Flip through the slideshow for the top recipes, and get ready to discover a new beloved version of your favourite, classic treat.

Culture & Entertainment

Hygge: The Art of "Finding Magic in the Ordinary"

Culture & Entertainment

Hygge: The Art of "Finding Magic in the Ordinary"

Think about some of your warmest memories—drinking wine and reminiscing with girlfriends, chatting with your mom while she whips up a batch of your favourite muffins, having a dinner date that leads to cocktails that leads to stargazing by the water because neither of you want the night to end—that’s hygge. It’s finding happiness in the every day, and all you need to be able to attain it is to know about it.

Some say the Danish word is pronounced “hooga” but according to Marie Tourell Søderberg, author of Hygge: The Danish Art of Happiness, it’s like this: The “y” is similar to the French “y” sound—think “huge,” and the “gge” sounds like the first syllable in “girl.” But, it doesn’t really matter how you say "hygge"—you just need to get it. And to get it, you need to know where it comes from.

Hygge originates from a Norwegian word that means “well-being,” and in English, it means “coziness,” but it’s much more than that. Hygge is appreciating the little things in life. It’s “all the small things that make us feel safe, loved and satisfied,” says Søderberg. Hygge is doing things with warmth and joy, being present in the moment, and having a feeling of home—in other words, the Danish way of life.

Denmark is ranked as one of the happiest nations in the world, and hygge is likely an “ingredient in the Danish recipe for happiness,” says author Meik Wiking in his book, The Little Book of Hygge. Compared to other Europeans, Danes “meet most often with their friends and family and feel the calmest and most peaceful.” And that’s why there’s a growing interest in hygge.

Books on the subject are quickly filling up store shelves—a simple Indigo search will pull up more than five books on hygge, all of which have come out in the later half of 2016 (including Søderberg’s and Wiking’s) or will be coming out in the early months of 2017—just in time for winter, which is pretty much the reason why hygge exists.

In her book, Søderberg says, “It originated due to the need to create joy, warmth and togetherness in a country that boasts long, cold winters”—something Canadians can relate to. Hygge encourages you to embrace the cold months instead of waiting for the sun to shine again. But, anyone, anywhere, can enjoy the benefits of hygge any time of year, as it’s all about sharing moments with those you love, indulging in comfort foods, and taking in the sights and sounds around you.

Understanding hygge and having a name for it helps you recognize it and look for it in your day-to-day life. “Including it in our daily narratives and language makes us aware of the qualities of the word. Saying, ‘let’s hygge tonight,’ states a clear intention of what qualities we want our evening to have—presence, lovingness, relaxed, informal—all these qualities in one word,” says Søderberg.

Intimate candlelit dinner parties, mulled wine by a fire and ice skating under twinkling lights are classic hygge moments, but it can also be found when you're not expecting it. Hygge can happen in the least hyggelig (the adjective form of “hygge”) locations or in those in-between moments throughout your day—like when you're hiding from the rain under an awning with a friend, listening to a sax player as you wait for the next subway to arrive, or laughing with your sister over the phone.

Although hygge can happen anywhere, the most common place for it is at home, so it helps to make your living quarters feel warm, safe and welcoming—think candles, warm textiles and plenty of personal touches. In Søderberg’s book, she shares decorating advice from Nordic interior design expert Christina B. Kjeldsen: “The hygge comes when you feel that the person behind the surroundings is completely comfortable with his or her choices, but at the same time isn’t afraid of decorating intuitively and trying out new things and ideas…When you put thoughtfulness into how and why you have chosen to surround yourself with particular furniture, objects, art, flowers, knick-knacks, curtains—whatever—then you relax and your guests will see and know you for who you are.”

But, it’s important not to feel pressure to create a perfect space or occasion and force hygge. Decorate your space for you and not how you think it should be, and let moments unfold naturally—something that can be all too rare in this social media age. Søderberg warns, “The most hyggelig evening can look like a disaster in a picture, and opposite—the least hyggelig can look like a perfect evening.” But, if you have a true hyggling moment, it’ll be a “piece of art to capture the exact sense of an atmosphere in a photo.”

So, keep hygge on your mind. Make plans to hygge, be present in every moment, and soak up life's glories. And if you do, you’ll be gifted with the ability to, as Søderberg says, “[find] the magic in the ordinary.”

Beauty

These lip balms will make you forget dry, chapped lips

Beauty

These lip balms will make you forget dry, chapped lips

Cold temperatures and harsh winds can take a toll on your lips—and there is nothing sexy about a chapped mouth. The good news? Our favourite lip balms can help eliminate dry, sore and chapped lips. These affordable picks range from $4 to $32.